Risking Life and Limb

When we got the boat, I assumed we'd use it at Deer Creek Reservoir (about 25 minutes away) or Jordanelle Reservoir (about 35 minutes away).  Those are the most scenic and most popular places to boat in our area.  Unfortunately, that also means they're crowded, using precious time waiting to have a turn to unload, then load your boat at the boat ramp when you're finished.  An additional strike against both of these lakes is that their water is very cold.

Now, Utah Lake is definitely the biggest lake in Utah County.  It's the most shallow, and therefore the warmest.  We can access the lake via a marina about 8 minutes from our house.  And it's not crowded.  But the reason it's not crowded is the flesh-eating bacteria that riddles the entire 148 square miles of water that people are scared about the algae bloom that's located in a couple of isolated parts of the lake.  (Also, it's not as pretty and sometimes smells bad.)

We decided it was worth putting ourselves and our family at risk, thinking that if we survived the high-stakes gamble, we'd be rewarded handsomely.  I kept telling Ben that if we boated at Utah Lake we'd end up with extra limbs or an extra eye ball or something, but the draw of uncrowded easily accesible warm water was just too strong.

In all seriousness, we knew we could stay away from the affected areas and we'd be fine.  If it was really dangerous, nobody would be allowed in.

Utah Lake has had serious issues in the past and a significant PR problem continues as a result.  I think that's the main reason that most people don't go there.  But I probably shouldn't tell anyone around here that or else our secret lake might become overcrowded like the others.

Anyway, that was a long way of saying that we took the boat out a couple more times this summer, both times to Utah Lake.  The first time was pretty uneventful: we put in, we puttered out of the little harbor, we slowly inflated the tube, and the kids took turns tubing around for an hour or two, then we reversed the process as we headed in.  (Also, I only took one picture.)

But the second day was much more exciting.  First of all, Ben taught me to drive the boat, which meant that he could ride in a tube.  And I took a turn tubing also.  Secondly, it got very windy while we were out, making the tube rides much more exciting.  We even saw a sailboat get overturned by the wind.  And once we finally made our way back to the dock, the engine wouldn't start up to get the boat loaded on the trailer.  Ben tried everything he could think of but coudln't get it to work.  He finally remembered that there was a trolling motor he could try attaching and turning on, and that did the trick.  He slowly directed the boat back to the trailer and that was that.  He found out later that the problem was a blown fuse.  It's fixed now!